Six Years Ago

Ruby rushed down the damp steps, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck as the muggy, underground air surrounded her. She padded it on her wet face and surveyed the subway entry terminals. The lines were longer than they usually were on rainy days—well no duh, Christmas is a week away. People like Ruby were just looking to get back to her family for the holidays, but what surprised her was how many people were in a station in a residential area. Huh, weird.

Ruby stuffed her scarf into her purse and retrieved her wallet. Her scroll buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the message from her sister.

"Just got your ACCEPTANCE LETTER TO SIGNAL IN THE MAIL!"

Amid a crowd of strangers in a cramped subway lobby, Ruby squealed. A loud, piercing sound erupted from her throat, barely perceptible as the word, "Yes!"

The buzzing hum of conversation faded to silence, and everyone turned to stare at the girl who suddenly screamed. Ruby felt her stomach drop when she saw the condescending looks on their faces, especially that of a mother who was pushing her child further behind her. Ruby lowered her head, re-reading Yang's message. She smiled with giddy delight.

She got in. She was going to Signal, one of the best combat training schools in the world. She would become a Huntress, just like her mother.

Slipping her scroll into her pants pocket, Ruby pulled her coat off of her shoulders and hung it on her arm, rolling her shoulders to readjust her hoodie. Ruby opened the wallet and reached for her metrocard.

When she finally reached the turnstile, she held her card over the scanner, listening for the beep, then pushed the metal bar out of her way.

Down another flight of steps, Ruby saw two sets of stairs on opposite sides of the main hall—one uptown, one downtown. Considering that she had absolutely no sense of direction, Ruby consulted a map on the wall. She needed to get to Patch, so she'd need to switch trains at one point because only one train goes that deep and that far. Ruby picked out the closest station that would take her where she needed to go. There were only a few routes that actually went in that direction, and she'd need to change trains at least twice. She tried to commit everything to memory, but then she scoffed at herself, realizing that she would forget the moment she looked away. She settled on memorizing which direction to go and what train to get on and where to get off. "Uptown, D, 32nd St."

She repeated these words over and over under her breath, making sure she wouldn't forget them. After descending another set of stairs to the platform, she found a seat and waited patiently for her train to arrive.

Two minutes later, a train with the letter D on it, which Ruby could see despite that it was her blowing hair in her eyes, whistled past and came to a screeching halt. She stood up and watched as several people flowed from the opening doors, trying to maneuver the people who shoved past them to get on the train themselves.

Hoping that she would be able to use her small size to her advantage, Ruby dove in. She clung to the back of a man carrying a briefcase who seemed like the type that wouldn't allow anybody else to deter him from getting on.

Thankfully, she was right, and the door nearly shut on her coat, but she pulled it in just in time. Once she was closed in, she realized just how cramped it was, the thickness of the air. It was just too much. Maybe she could find another car…

Ruby squeezed past the man she tailed to get onto the train and slid through the crowd. Most people were kind enough to make some room for her to pass, but others pretended she wasn't even there, not even acknowledging her when she said, "excuse me".

She reached the end and looked at the doors. A sign read, "Do not open unless in an emergency." Maybe she could wait it out?

Oh come on, Ruby saw people passing through these all the time.

Ruby shook her head and ignored the shaky feeling in her gut and pulled the doors open. Air blasted into her face as she stepped out, Ruby allowing the doors to close behind her. She looked at the gap between the cars. It couldn't have been more than four inches, but she knew that her foot could get caught down there if she wasn't careful enough.

Ruby scolded herself for getting caught up in her own anxiety and took a step forward. She tried to stretch her arm across the gap, reaching for the door without letting go of the other one. Her fingers barely grazed the cool metal on the other door.

Ruby took a deep breath, let go of the door handle and lunged forward. Her heart skipped and beat a little more forcefully than it did before. When she exhaled, she realized that she was holding her breath.

Opening the doors felt blissful—the cool air rushed into her face, onto the thin layer of sweat beading on her face. Ruby took in a breath of fresh air and noticed that there were plenty of people on this train as well.

Ruby pulled up her sleeve to check her watch. 5:45. Ruby realized that she would probably get home later than six o'clock, the time she told her father she would be home.

An announcement came over the speaker. "Next stop, 34th street."

That was her stop right? Maybe not, but if she missed it, she would be later than she already was. Just get off at the next stop, Ruby.

The doors opened. Not many people got on the train, but many got off. The station was already incredibly crowded as is, and it probably couldn't take much more people. Ruby barely stepped onto the platform before she realized she couldn't go any further.

Deciding that she needed to look at a map, Ruby tried to slip around, but no one backed up to let her pass. Not like she blamed them—they don't have any room to give her. Ruby tripped and grabbed onto someone's sleeve.

In one swift moment that slipped from Ruby's consciousness, the hand she grabbed onto pushed her back, and Ruby felt nothing but the twisting in her gut until her legs made contact with the floor.

Ruby gathered her senses. At first, she just heard a lot of gasping and a woman's voice shouting, "Someone do something!" Nothing was where it was supposed to be. Her tailbone pained her to the point that she could hardly move the lower half of her body. Her foot was twisted at an unnatural angle, and oh god, she felt it. Everything hurt, and her vision was blurry, black spots scattering her vision.

After she figured out which way was up and which way was down, Ruby realized that she was on the subway tracks. Ruby pushed herself up onto her elbows, barely mustering the strength to get herself any further. Suddenly, she heard a screeching whistle deep in the tunnel ahead.

A train was coming.

Ruby started to feel a sense of panic rising in her chest. Her breath came up too short, and she could hardly think two seconds ahead of herself.

Ruby heard something fall behind her. She turned around. About twenty feet behind, a boy jumped down and landed on three points. He raced over to Ruby.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

Ruby looked down at her foot. He followed her gaze and nodded. He held out his hands to her. Ruby turned and took one of them, and he pulled her up. Ruby saw the light of the train shining on his shirt.

"Hey," he whispered. Ruby looked up. She noticed that there were two fresh cuts under his right eye, nearly parallel, blood oozing down the side of his face. "It's gonna be all right."

Ruby nodded.

"I'm gonna boost you up, okay?" He looked down at her—piercing green eyes.

He kneeled and laced his fingers together, placing them on the floor. "Go ahead and step on my hand," he shouted. The train was getting closer.

Ruby placed her hands on his shoulders, gently putting weight on her injured foot. She grunted as she stepped on his hands. Counting to three, he lifted her up and took two steps backwards. One of the women on the platform approached the edge and offered her hand. Ruby reached out and took it.

The boy beneath Ruby pushed her foot as high as he could until Ruby slipped her knee on the edge and the woman holding onto her forearm pulled her up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Ruby ignored her and turned around. The train was coming down the tracks, but the boy who helped her off the tracks was already halfway up, propping himself up on the edge. He swung his legs up right as the train arrived.

He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "See? You're fine." He offered a half smile before getting on his feet and taking off, pulling up his hood and putting his hands in his pockets.

Ruby sat for a moment, dazed.

"Excuse me," the woman said. "Do you need to borrow a phone?"

Ruby turned to look at her. She pulled out her scroll and examined the screen. Still functional.

Ruby shook her head. "No, thank you."

Ruby turned back around to the boy who saved her life, but he was already gone.


To Kohai: Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, I haven't decided yet.

To cipher: I don't exactly understand what your reviews mean but I still take them as a compliment, so thank you! :)

To midblooder: Yeah, that actually is…why didn't I think of that first?